


Chamomile

by Archie_Faely



Category: Original Work
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26036398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archie_Faely/pseuds/Archie_Faely
Summary: Charlie grew up as the Pastor's kid in a conservative town deep in the mountains of Colorado. A picture perfect kid, popular, funny, a straight a student. Parents pride and joy. Despite appearing like a perfect fit for society. Charlie is hiding a secret. A secret that the new girl in town draws into the light.Chamomile is unapologetically herself, someone that the town of Winfield isn't ready for. After her mom left, her dad has had them bouncing from town to town, state to state. Never staying in one spot for too long. Winfield is just another place, another temporary environment. However Charlie is different, engaging, clever and unequivitable charming. Almost enough to convince her to want to stay.





	Chamomile

I remember meeting Chamomile for the first. It was two weeks after school had ended, after sophomore year. There was this little ice cream parlor on main street, it’d been since the thirties and looked like it hadn’t changed since the fifties. My friends and I had gone there after a day spent swimming in the lake and there she was.  
She was like no one else I’d ever seen. Her hair was pulled into two buns and there were tiny flowers decorating them. She had on these little, light wash high waisted shorts and this bright yellow halter top and matching flip flops. She even had those same little flowers on her cheekbones. She was well beautiful.  
She was ordering her ice cream and smiling. I couldn’t help but stare, I mean that smile was perfect. I guess I didn’t realize how much I was staring, until my friend, Jacob, bumped me and asked, “What have you never seen a black person before?”  
I laughed at that. Jacob is black. I remember saying “I’d never seen someone dress the way she does” or something like that. My friends laughed, so I assume it was funny but mean. That was just their sense of humor. I remember her turning around to look at me and for a split second her smile faltered and my gut sank. Then she took her ice cream, a scoop of sweet cream and a scoop of cotton candy on a rainbow waffle cone, her usual order, thanked Freddie, the man who worked at the shop for as long as I could remember, and left.

The thing about our town is even though we were in a progressive state, it was an extremely conservative town. My dad was practically mayor, being the Pastor of the only church in fifty mile radius, and for whatever reason hated people who were queer. Kinda ironic, isn't it? So anyone who was queer had to hide it, so when Jacob came out to me. I was shocked, Jacob was such a straight cut jock.  
It happened one night, a few days after I first saw Chamomile. Jacob and I were sitting on the roof of his car, up at what was unofficially the Lover’s Lane. He and I were the closest out of our group, we’d known each other for years. Growing up next to each other and all that. I’d never had feelings for him, looking back it makes a lot of sense as to why.  
Everyone would joke that we should just get together. Childhood best friends turned high school sweethearts, super romantic and just the gossip our town needed. I actually brought this up to him that night. I think that I said something like “Why aren’t we together? I mean we’re already best friends.”  
He responded with, “ I don’t know.”  
There was a pause, he looked at the sky. I studied his face, I knew there was something else going on in his head. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was pouting, the look he always made when debating something. Whether it be what flavor of ice cream to get or whether or not to beat the shit out of the guys who'd make racist comments at school. He then said something very faintly.  
“What?” I asked.  
“I think I’m gay,” He said.  
I was both shocked and not shocked. It both made complete sense and caught me completely off guard.  
“Ok,” I said.  
Jacob rubbed his face, “Oh god, Charlie what am I gonna do?”  
I scooted over and put an arm around him, “I’m not sure but I accept you for who you are. If there is anything I can do please let me know.”  
He leaned into me and started to cry. We spent the night there talking, crying, existing. I could tell that he was relieved to have it off his chest and I was glad he told me. I reassured him that no matter what he was my best friend and would always be. As well as that when he came out to his parents, I'd be there for him. No matter what happened and that one day we'd be out of this shit show of a town.  
I think that was my first experience of love, not romantic love but platonic. I loved him, I still do. Now he's married and is the proud parent to two beautiful little girls but I'm getting ahead myself.


End file.
